The Week Ahead: March 20 to 26

Former President Bill Clinton is no stranger to South Florida; just recently, he swung by Books and Books in Coral Gables for a jam-packed signing and meet-and-greet to support his new tome “Back to Work.” This time, though, his appearance is a much bigger deal, as it features a full-length lecture from Clinton on “Embracing Our Common Humanity.” He’s appearing on behalf of his Clinton Global Initiative, a success by all accounts which purports to have improved the lives of nearly 300 million people in more than 170 countries.

Ever since it went viral in 2010, the infamous video of a man lighting his faucet water on fire has become a rallying cry against “fracking” – Halliburton’s controversial hydraulic drilling process to obtain natural gas from the earth. It’s the kind of image that spoke a thousand words, and it came from the studious documentary “GasLand,” a hit on HBO that was later nominated for an Oscar and went on to win an Emmy. This special screening at FAU’s University Theatre includes a post-screening discussion with director Josh Fox.

The topic “Youth Serving to Save Their Communities” sounds like a rather benign topic, but just you wait – Dr. Cornel West tends to ignite provocation just by opening his mouth. The professor of Religious Philosophy and Christian Practice at Union Theological Seminary – and a prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America – is speaking as part of FAU’s three-day South Florida Youth Summit, hence the topic of his lecture. But he’s most for his left-wing political views, spoken and written with an eloquent, intellectual vigor. A passionate advocate for Occupy Wall Street, he was arrested twice for dissent last year alone, and his shout-downs with Bill O’Reilly have become cable-news classics.

The Norton Museum is going local with the opening of “Outside/In,” the first exhibition curated by the museum’s new photography curator, Tim Wride. It features the work of six Florida photographers, hailing from Miami to St. Augustine, whose work will be juxtaposed with photos from the museum’s permanent collection, thus creating a dialogue. In addition to being a creative idea in itself, the development of this exhibition helped Wride, who spent 14 years as a curator in Los Angeles, discover the photographic culture of South Florida – and the multitude of talent contained therein. He will discuss one of the artist’s works at 6:30 tonight, part of the Norton’s weekly Art After Dark activities.

Friday

Walter Isaacson at Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale, 1 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; $10 ticket, which can be attributed to any book in Books & Books; 954/262-0202 or sg841@moafl.org

Check out just about any list of the Best Books of 2011, and chances are Walter Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs” will be on there somewhere. The acclaimed biographer, a former CNN exec whose previous subjects included Henry Kissinger, Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, sat down with Jobs more than 40 times and interviewed countless family members, friends, colleagues and rivals, in this exhaustively researched, 600-plus page tome. More than two years in the making, the book is filled with personal and professional revelations about this exacting genius, and not all of it presents him in a positive light.

Friday to Sunday

Boca Bacchanal at various Boca Raton locations; various start times and costs; 561/395-6766 ext. 101 or www.bocabacchanal.com

This beloved fundraiser for the Boca Raton Historical Society began 10 years ago, and the formula has remained the same ever since: On Friday, top chefs pair with top vintners from around the world to host dinners at private residences. On Saturday, the toques and vintners relive their offerings at a “Bacchus Bash” at the Boca Raton Resort & Club that features live and silent auctions. And on Sunday, an outdoor “grand tasting” with by-the-bite fare from area restaurants and samplings from vintners at the Mizner Park Amphitheater concludes the festivities.Wine Spectatorrated the Bacchanal as one of the top 20 food and wine festivals in the country in its inaugural year, and it’s grown in popularity ever since. Foodies would be remiss to skip it.

Anyone who heretofore doubted that Ultra is the most important music festival in South Florida should take a gander at this year’s lineup. After all, enough people did that the event sold out within days on the strength of its initial artist list. No longer an insular music festival for techno lovers, Ultra has expanded its electronic-music footprint to encompass legendary alternative and New Wave acts as well, including rare performances by Kraftwerk and New Order (on Friday), DJ Shadow (on Saturday) and Top 40 superstar David Guetta (on Sunday). Other notable talent includes Pretty Lights, Dirty South, Neon Indian, Fatboy Slim, Gossip, M83. and Bassnectar. Try visiting the concert-ticket website Stubhub for last-minute tickets, but be prepared to dive into your children’s college fund.

Seems to me, the world grew a lot less fun with Debbie Harry became Deborah Harry, shedding much of Blondie’s energy in an ill-fated attempt at a solo career. Her legacy, of course, will always be Blondie, which formed in 1974 during a period of fertile experimentation in underground music and has continued to innovate ever since. I’ve always considered them more of a punk than a pop band, courtesy of tracks like “X Offender” and “Rip Her to Shreds,” but their pop music bona fides are unassailable: Expect to hear “Call Me,” “One Way or Another,” “Heart of Glass” and all the other chart-toppers at this rare tour appearance.